It is well known that regular flossing is important for good dental health. Flossing, which is directed toward cleaning of the interproximal area of the teeth, including cleaning below the gum line, reduces dental decay and gingivitis by removing plaque and food remnants in the interproximal area which are not typically reached by conventional brushing. However, even though flossing is highly recommended and produces consistent advantageous results, regular flossing is only done by a small minority of people. A large percentage of people (close to 50%) do not, in fact, floss at all.
While flossing has been shown to be the most effective means for interproximal cleaning, one alternative to flossing is a device which produces a stream of fluid droplets at high speed which are then directed into the interproximal area by a nozzle and/or guidance tip arrangement. This device uses a compressed gas, e.g. CO2, cartridge to produce the fluid droplet stream. There are, however, recognized disadvantages to the use of compressed gas cartridges, including restrictions on air transport and the need to replace the cartridges on a regular basis. Further, gas cartridges have heat limitations, e.g. typically less than 49° C., which limits their use in certain environments and requires some oversight in the use and storage of the device and the gas cartridges.
Hence, while use of a stream of high-speed fluid droplets has been shown to be effective, it would be desirable to have such a fluid stream generated by means other than a gas cartridge, with relatively few, if any, restrictions on ordinary use.